The Gibblet Chronicles
by McRaider
Summary: Abby and Tony were two kids in desperate need of a warm and safe home, Jethro and Shannon were told they'd never have their own children. This is the story of Abigail and Anthony Gibbs. Temporarily on Hiatus, I will return to this...I'm having a minor writing conflict.
1. Chapter 1

**The Gibblet Chronicles**  
 **McRaider**  
 **Summary** : Abby and Tony were two kids in desperate need of a warm and safe home, Jethro and Shannon were told they'd never have more children. This is the story of Abigail and Anthony Gibbs.  
 **Author's Note:** Some parts will be different than in the show, making this obviously AU, while other parts will be similar.  
 **Age Notes:** For the sake of the story Tony was born in 1977, Abby was born in 1980.

 **Chapter One** \- 1983

The rain in DC was coming down in sheets, multiple flood warnings had been issued over the last three days since the rain had started, the Potomac dangerously high. Despite that people were still on the roads, driving around like maniacs in the bad weather. The windshield wipers thumped as the red and blue lights bounced off the wet shine of the night, three bodies littered the grounds, all dead all in gruesome and unnatural positions. A single child, a toddler unharmed, sat in the back of the dry ambulance, tears covering her cheeks. Her dark black hair up in two pigtails, a gray scratchy blanket wrapped around her thin body. In her arms she held a purple stuffed hippo.

Off to the side, under a black umbrella stood a medic, a police officer and a woman in dark wet jeans and a heavy rain coat. "Her name is Abigail Scuito, age two years and two months. Those were her parents car. Both…dead," the officer explained.

"Is she injured?" The social worker questioned.

The medic shook his head, "No, she's can be released into your custody and the states whenever you're ready to take her."

The social worker nodded and made a couple notes on the pad she had. She slid it into her pocket, "All right, I'll take her to a local foster home, Officer Marks, could you contact me in the morning with the names of any potential living relatives?"

"Of course," he replied taking the card she held out to him. "Let me know if there's anything we can do for the poor kid."

"Thank you. Do you mind if I use the ambulance to speak with her first, before her I take her to my car?"

"All yours, unfortunately we don't need it," the man murmured before he walked away.

She stepped over to the ambulance, still clutching the black umbrella, and studied the poor lonely little toddler, "Hi Abby," she offered as quietly as she could over the sound of the rain, "My name is Lela Austin, I'm a social worker. Do you know what that means?"

"Mommy and daddy?" the toddler murmured.

Climbing into the back of the ambulance and closing her umbrella, leaving it at the back, she took a seat on the bench to the side, while the girl continued to sit on the gurney. Her small legs hung over the side, dangling down over the edge. "Mommy and daddy are dead, Abby, I'm so sorry."

"Heaven?" She meekly questioned.

Reaching out Lela gripped her small hand, "I'm sorry sweetie."

"What now?" She glanced over at Lela, her green eyes rimmed red from the crying.

"Well, I have to take you to a foster home, unless you have any other family that you know of?"

"I know my number."

Smiling Lela nodded, "That's excellent sweetheart, but unfortunately that's not going to help. I'm are going to take you to the foster home while we try and find a place for you to stay permanently."

"Kay," the girl replied, nodding.

Climbing out of the ambulance, she held her hands up to the little girl, who climbed into her arms. She then grabbed her umbrella and looked at Abby "I know you're scared, but we'll take care of you," she whispered, as she ran a hand over the girl's head and hair. Before walking over to her car and putting her in the back, in a car seat she always had on hand. Strapping the girl in, she climbed into the driver's side of the car.

She drove towards the group home, which sat on the outskirts of Arlington. She pulled up to the home, it was a last minute foster home, there had been some discussion about removing the couple from the approved list, but nothing had ever been put in place officially. She wasn't sure of the reasoning, and since it hadn't been made official yet she certainly didn't mean they were off limits. They were currently in charge of another foster child, a tall man with dark black hair stood in a gray hoodie and a dark pair of pajama bottoms. Lela parked the car and shut it off, grateful that the rain had let up some to a slow drizzle. She got out of the driver's seat and headed back to Abby, unbuckling the girl and pulling her out of the car. Resting the girl who was still clutching the hippo against her hip she headed up the front steps to the gentleman waiting.

"This the girl?" He asked, his voice gruff and tired.

"This is Abigail Scuito. Abby, this is Mr. Connor," she introduced, She looked down at Abby who had since put one thumb in her mouth and was sucking on it.

"She hurt?"

"No, I'll be by in a few days to take her to the funeral," the woman offered as she put the toddler on her feet, "And I'll bring by some of her personal belongings."

The man nodded, "Come on kid," he took the little girl's hand, and led her inside the house. The house was small, the carpet dingy, the house smelled of wet dog and spoilt food. The man walked her down a hallway to the left, pushing a door open to a bedroom, two beds lay on opposite side of the room. A small boy, wearing a ratty t-shirt and a pair of boxers, he was barely covered by a blanket. "You'll be in that bed, breakfast is at 9am sharp, we'll give you a list of chores tomorrow. Any kid who lives here pulls their own weight."

She didn't understand what he meant, but as he left the room, closing the door behind, she felt unbelievably alone. She plopped down on her butt in the middle of the room, gripped her hippo tight in her hand and started crying.

The boy, a dark chocolate haired boy, with hazel eyes, sat up in bed seeing the young girl crying on the floor. She was a few years younger than him, he climbed out of his bed and sat down behind her, "Shhh," he whispered, "They don't like being woken up," he murmured as he began rubbing her back. "I'm Tony," he offered quietly as he pulled her against him.

She buried her face in his neck and sobbed, as he rocked her back and forth. "Abby," she managed between a hiccuping sob.

"It's okay to cry, Abby, just…don't let them see you." He wasn't sure how long they'd sat there, at some point he'd started crying with her, unsure of the reason, but knowing either way they were both here and both miserable for some reason. When finally he grew cold, he eased her to her feet and helped her climb into the other bed. He whispered reassurances to her until she fell asleep. Once she was sleep, he climbed back into his own bed and closed his eyes. He didn't sleep though, he thought about what brought him here, and wondered if that's what had happened to her or if it had been something else all together different.

o0o

When 0830 came, Anthony was already awake and dressed for the day, he'd scrubbed his teeth like he was supposed to, and made sure his hair looked decent. He pulled on a pair of old faded jeans, which had a hole in one knee. He then pulled on a t-shirt, once he'd finished doing these things he glanced over at the new arrival. The sun was streaming through a small window near the top of their room, it was a small window, probably classified more as basement window really, as it could neither be opened, nor seen out of due to its height from the floor. The sun fell across the girl's face, she was pale white, with jet black hair, that had been fashioned into pigtails, although now both tails looked more like a rats nest. The clothes the small toddler wore were covered in grime, and a dark crimson brown, which he wasn't quite sure he could place. All the same, the girl shouldn't have slept in this outfit, but he wasn't sure he had clothes that would fit her much smaller and petite frame.

He moved over to his dresser and was about to start looking when there was a knock on the door, he stood stock still, while the door opened, Mr. Connor stepped into the room, Tony turned and stood at attention, "Sir?" He asked clearly.

"S'okay kid, ya ain't in trouble, here are some of her clothes," he handed the boy a trash bag. Make sure she's up and ready to go by 0900 as usual."

"Yes sir," Tony replied, accepted the trash bag that felt a bit heavier than he did. "Sir?"

The man turned to study the boy, the man in question, was in his mid forties, yet still retained a military hair cut and physique. Anthony didn't consider him cruel or evil, but the man was strict and fierce when he wanted to be. At times it seemed impossible to please the man. "Yes?"

"Did…did they say what brought her here?"

The man sighed and moved further into the room, he sat down on Tony's perfectly made bed, which he took note of, "Well done on the bed, son," he offered. He patted the bed, "Come here."

Tony dropped the bag and scrambled over to the man, sitting on his bed, it was moments like these when Tony adored Mr. Connor, glimpses at the kind man he had once been, a loving man who had nearly lost everything all because of something called…Nam, Tony didn't know what Nam was, but Mr. Connor cursed it every day. "Her parents were killed last night in a car crash."

Tony felt his heart ache for the toddler, to lose her mommy and daddy early was harsh. He'd been different, his mother had died of alcoholism three years ago, and his father had just stopped living, he hated the world for his wife's death and had ultimately become what she had, an alcoholic, but he'd been a mean one, angry and vicious. "It'll be okay, son," Mr. Connor offered. "Now, get her ready and downstairs."

"Yessir," Tony replied as Mr. Connor stood and headed back out of the room.

Anthony wasn't stupid enough to believe others when they eluded that Mr. Connor was abusive, and that his current wife was abusive. Yes, they hit him, and occasionally beat the tar out of him. There were days he'd wake up and could barely move, but he'd always deserved it. Whether he hadn't finished his chores for the day, or hadn't met their high standards. Whatever the reason they always made certain he understood the reasoning behind his punishment. Although, he didn't like Mrs. Connor nearly as much as he liked Mr. Connor. Mrs. Connor, Rebecca was her first name, was from high society, much like his real parents had been. She had expectations of things being perfect in her home. She yelled frequently, and when she wasn't yelling she was bemoaning Mr. Connor. Unlike Mr. Connor who typically only hit Tony when he'd done something very wrong, or when he was having one of his nightmares, Mrs. Connor hit Tony almost all the time, she was fairly unconcerned with her reasoning. She was the abusive one.

Tony shook his head and glanced at his clock, it was already 0845, he had to get her ready, and quickly. He rifled through her clothes, he'd made sure she had time to see everything and get organized later, for now though he had to get her ready. He grabbed a pair of Oshkosh overalls and a long sleeve shirt since the house was drafty and laid them on the bed, he then moved over to his new sister and shook her. The greenest eyes he'd ever seen slid open and studied him for a long minute, he saw confusion in her eyes, not remembering what had taken place the night prior, but then it all clicked into place and her eyes began to tear up.

"It's okay," he replied, trying to reassure her, "Do you remember my name?"

"Tony," she whispered, fighting back the tears by biting her lower lip. He reached out, making sure she saw his hands, and brushed her hair back away from her face.

"That's me, want me to redo your pig tails?"

Her eyes light up as she nodded, she sat up as he grabbed a nearby comb and gently he took her original pig tails down and put new ones in their place. "You have to get dressed, breakfast is at 0900, that's military time for 9am, can you read time yet?" The toddler shook her head, assuming because she didn't fully understand that the answer was no. "Okay, I'll try and teach you today or tonight while we do chores. Mr. and Mrs. Connor are going to assign you work to do around the house, it's important that you finish the tasks they give you, if you don't they will punish you. Be polite, say yes ma'am, no ma'am, yes sir, no sir when you're spoken to. Don't back talk."

Abby tried to take it all in as he helped her out of her clothes from last night and helped her change into her own, he noticed she wore underwear, so she was clearly potty trained or had been recently, that would be good. "If you ever have a question, or are scared come to me first, okay?"

Abby nodded, a little more scared than the night before as he hooked her overalls. It was 0857, and he was concerned she hadn't brushed her teeth or anything. He sighed, "This will have to do, we don't have time to do everything else, I'll take you to the kitchen."

They made their way out of the bedroom and back down the hall from the earlier evening, in the light the house looked fairly put together, it still smelled of wet dog, cigarette smoke and what smelled like rotting food, but otherwise it was a nice open living room that's curtains were open and the sun streaming in. Two dogs lay on the ugly brownish red with hints of yellow shag carpet, basking in the sun, one a Jack Russell Terrier and the other a basset hound.

Wood panels covered the interior of the home, half way up the wall, the rest of the walls to the ceiling were an off yellow tinged at the edges by cigarette smoke. They moved into the kitchen, a table sat against the wall, with two chairs on one side and two chairs on the other. Mr. Connor, whom Abby had met the night before sat at the table, sipping something black out of a mug and reading the newspaper. He glanced over his shoulder to see the two children and he offered a smile to the little girl, "Hello Abby, we met last night, I'm Mr. Connor," he introduced himself.

"I member," she replied.

He nodded, "That's good, why don't you take a seat, Anthony grab you and your sister some milk."

"Yes sir," he replied.

A woman stood at the stove cooking something that smelled like eggs and bacon, she wasn't a tall woman, perhaps 5'5, with long skinny jeans on and a long sweater that dipped past her butt, a belt sat at her center. Her hair was blonde and up, super frizzy. She turned to greet their new guest, she was a server looking woman, an angular face, sharp long nose and dark brown eyes that almost looked black. "Abigail, it's nice to meet you, I'm Mrs. Connor. Every morning we have breakfast at 0900, once Tony starts school this August it'll be closer to 0800. You'll have chores to do every day. Mr. Connor goes to work, so you won't see him until the evening. Once Tony starts going to school it'll be you doing a majority of the chores, so Mr. Connor and I expect you work hard. There will be punishment if something isn't completed, just like there will be rewards for completing various tasks."

"Mrs. Connor and I are also avid believers in the children should be seen, not heard. Do you understand what that means?" Abby shook her head as Tony poured her some milk and himself some before returning the carton to the fridge. "It means we expect you to be polite and only speak when spoken to by an adult. You are expected to be in bed every night at 0800, and asleep by 0900. Any back talk means punishment, understand?"

Thinking that she did, Abby nodded. Tony sat down beside her, providing her a reassuring smile, before he and she were both served a small helping of eggs, two pieces of sausages. Abby picked up the fork that felt far too large for her small fingers, and ate some of the egg. It was dry and bland, but it was food. She could still recall the taste of her mother's cooking, always so full of flavor. Tears swam in front of her vision as she tried swallow the egg down.

"What's wrong?" Mrs. Connor questioned, Abby could tell she'd already done something wrong as she put her fork down.

"I'm not hungry," she whispered.

The woman above her huffed and grabbed her food, "Fine, if you won't eat what's put before you, then you don't eat." The woman snapped, before removing the plate and putting it on the floor for one of the dogs.

o0o

Two months passed quickly, in those two months Abby had grown stick thin, only averaging one meal a day. Her chores were complicated, loading the dishwasher, sweeping, all items that her tiny hands didn't quite know how or want to do. Every time she dropped something, or broke something, she got smacked in the face.

Mr. Connor had had two episodes which Tony called 'nightmares', except he hadn't been sleeping. He'd been drinking and some noise would echo and startle everyone and suddenly the man was yelling or screaming. He would hit them, he'd broken Tony's arm last month when Tony had tried to protect her.

Now Mr. and Mrs. Connor were downstairs screaming at one another in what Tony called a drunken rage. Abby cuddled her hippo closer and pressed closer to Tony's side as they're yelling etched up a bit higher. "I hate it here," she whimpered.

"Me too," he murmured. He did, he'd always hated it here, the rules were constantly changing, they could never do anything right. Someone was always yelling at them or hitting them. Tony had been hoping the broken arm would be a final straw, but unfortunately everyone had believed his 'I fell down the stairs'.

He yearned for a real mother and father, people who set realistic goals and really rewarded them. He knew Abby did too, despite being only two she clearly understood what a normal set of parents did vs. the Connors. They weren't allowed to have meltdowns, they couldn't be scared or upset or frightened, no one would come to comfort them.

As Abby and Tony lay in bed, side by side, wishing for someone to come rescue them, across the city a man and woman lay side by side, praying that what the doctor's had told them wasn't true. The man, a Marine Gunny Sergeant, rolled onto his side to look at his crying wife, "We can adopt, we'll look into it tomorrow, okay?"

"You're sure, I know you wanted one of your own," she whispered. They'd married nearly fifteen months ago, but they'd been trying the entire time to have kids, both excited at the prospect. The doctor had assured them it was normal, but after she'd continued to have her doubts, he'd agreed to run some tests, and determined that there were some fertility issues. He encouraged them to keep trying, but that it may never happen for them.

"Honey, I just want you to be happy, if adopting means it, then that's more than enough for me."

"Okay, we'll start tomorrow."

TBC

Edited 1/18 - Sorry for the confusion between Connor and Carson. This should now be resolved.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: While the original chapter 2 has unfortunately happened in far too many adoption cases, many were calling this melodramatic. So I rewrote chapter two. Hope you like this version better.**

 **Chapter Two - 1983**

The entire adoption process for a baby took much longer than that for slightly older children, when they'd met with their social worker for the first time, after being approved for the process, the social worker explained that a large number of older children needed homes. "It's not that we don't want you to have a baby, Mrs. Gibbs, we respect your desire, and we'll be happy to put you on the waiting list, but if you want kids now, it might not hurt to shoot for one a little older, perhaps a toddler or even one as old as seven."

"What kind of problems might they have?"

"Well, there's always going to be more baggage the older they are, but you both seem very loving and understanding, I truly don't anticipate issues, while the children do come with potentially more issues, we actually have two that meet your overall selections" Lela explained as she sat before the couple. "Tell you what, I met this wonderful little girl about four months back, she was a toddler, she's in foster care right now, her parents were killed in a car accident. She's with an older boy in the same foster home, I can arrange for you to meet them both, talk to them. They each have different histories, the boy, Anthony I believe, he isn't my charge, but I know his social worker and I can get his file. He's five, but from what I've heard he's a very charming young boy. If you'd like to meet them we can set you up to meet them tomorrow and see what you think."

Shannon looked over at Jethro with hope, hoping desperately he'd agree to this. He had his reservations about adopting older kids, in fact that had been one of his requirements, was adopting a baby, but as he met his wife's beautiful pale blue eyes, he could already feel himself folding. "Sounds great, thank you, Lela."

That evening as the pair went home and sat down to dinner, they took a moment to study one another, "I know you said you didn't want older children," Shannon began, "But would you consider it?"

"Of course, but only one, I'm not sure I can handle two at a time," he chuckled.

She smirked to herself as she put a piece of chicken in her mouth, leaning over she kissed his lips, "I love you," she replied, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"I love you too, I just want to share that love, if being with older children means it, then I'm fine with that honey."

o0o

Lela pulled up to the house and sighed, she'd received a call only a few weeks earlier from Mr. Connor that his wife had left him, while she hated the idea of asking any parent who wasn't ready to take on children, Mr. Connor had been clear, he wasn't the right person to care for both of these children. They needed a home, or they'd be separated. She was working the system, but both she and Mr. Connor had seen a relationship develop between Tony and Abby, and Lela didn't have the heart to split up the two children who had developed such a bond.

She climbed out of the car, heading towards the house, Mr. Connor stepped up to the front door before she could even knock, "Lela, come on in," he offered, opening the door to the social worker. "You think you found a couple?" He asked, recalling the conversation on the phone prior to her arrival.

"Hopefully, ideally, I'd like them to all meet at a neutral location. We can use one of the group homes for that, if you aren't comfortable with it being your home," her eyes glanced around, things had clearly deteriorated since his wife had left him. There was trash cluttering the house, stale dishes, she knew Mr. Connor was struggling as it was, and she needed to get these kids a safe place to live soon to get rid of some of his stress.

"Think that'd be best. Listen, Lela, I hope you realize, I love these kids, but…this ain't a healthy environment for 'em. And I can't stay here, I lost my job yesterday, they need somewhere stable, an' I ain't it."

Lela reached out, squeezing his arm, "I completely understand, Mr. Connor, we never want our foster families to feel forced into keeping children. Foster care is temporary. Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs seem like wonderful people and I do believe they'll love our Tony and Abby. Can I see them?"

"Sure! Sorry, follow me, Tony is doin' homework, and Abby hasn't been feelin' well lately. She started running a small fever this morning. I was going to take her to the hospital if it got much worse but…" he sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm doin' horrible, ain't I."

"Absolutely not, Mr. Connor, you're trying your best to provide for these two while you can. Why don't we go check on Abby and Tony now, and if the fever has gotten worse, we'll take her together, then maybe I'll call the Gibbs' and have them come meet us there."

The older man nodded and they headed down the hall together, the door was cracked, and Lela could hear a soft voice talking, which was occasionally broken by the sound of coughing. The coughing was harsh and dry, it sounded like the girl was trying desperately not to vomit.

"It's okay, Abby," opening the door Lela saw Abby cuddled in Tony's arms, the little girl was trying not to cry as she was held by her big "brother", he rubbed her back soothingly. Hazel eyes glanced up at the door opened, he looked as if he'd been found doing something wrong.

"Hey you two, Abby I hear you aren't feeling well," Lela asked as she stepped over to the two, she ran a hand over Tony's short hair, "It's okay Tony, looks like you've been doing an excellent job." She knelt down to take a closer look at Abby and felt her stomach clench at the sight of the girl with graying fingernails, she tilted Abby's head up enough to see her and saw the paling lips. "Mr. Connor, grab Tony some clothes and Abby's favorite toy, we're going to the hospital now."

The former military man didn't hesitate he hurried to get what Lela had asked for, while Lela bundled the fairly unresponsive toddler into her arms with a nice toasty blanket. "Abby, do you remember me, it's Lela?" green eyes studied her, but were hazy with fever. Sweat had caused her bangs to grow damp and stick to her face. The child looked miserable. Lela looked down at Tony, trying to give him a reassuring smile, "We're going to go to the hospital, I need you to ride in the back, is that okay?" It wasn't a question, but she didn't want to scare the poor boy more.

He thankfully didn't put up a fight, he took a hoodie from Mr. Connor, and pulled it on, before the four of them headed for Lela's car. Lela handed her keys to Mr. Connor as she sat in the passenger's seat. "I'm so sorry, Lela, it came on fast, she'd complained of a sore throat a couple days ago and then suddenly she was running a fever this morning, and coughing," fear filled the foster father's eyes.

"It's not your fault Mr. Connor, Abby's gone through a lot of changes, and unfortunately it's not uncommon for children her age to get sick suddenly. It's okay," she soothed.

When they arrived at the hospital, the doctor's rushed the little girl into an exam room, leaving Mr. Connor, Tony and Lela to wait. "I'm going to call Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs, are you two all right?"

Tony looked up at Lela, his eyes watery at seeing his foster sister removed from his sight. Mr. Connor didn't look much better, both sets of shoulders sagged in defeat as they nodded. Mr. Connor gently steered the little boy over to the waiting room, where they would have some toys to play with.

Jethro and Shannon were startled from their dinner conversation when their phone rang. They'd spent most of the morning and afternoon deciding that they would take on both children and ultimately had spent the next several hours gathering items they would need to house not one but two children. They'd set up two different bedrooms, they weren't much just beds with a dresser. Both Shannon's mother and Jethro's father were coming on the weekend to help set up everything and meet the children.

"Hello?" Jethro answered, having stood and moved over to where their home phone sat.

"Oh good, Mr. Gibbs, it's Lela, we spoke this morning about Anthony and Abigail. I'm sorry to bother you, there's been a slight change in plans."

"What's wrong?" Jethro questioned, fearing she would tell them their excitement had been for naught.

"I'm not entirely sure, I went to check on the children and talk to their foster father Mr. Connor, and poor Abby, she's the younger one, was running a high fever, I think she has pneumonia," the poor woman sounded beside herself as Jethro listened to her. "Their foster father is giving up all care, he feels he's no longer fit, and poor Tony is going to need a place to stay while Abby is in the hospital-"

"Wait, Abby's in the hospital, which one?"

"Inova Children's hospital. I'm sorry I know you weren't meant to meet them until tomorrow, but I'm concerned about Mr. Connor's mental state of late and I just don't think it's wise that either children return to his care." She glanced back towards the waiting room, which was thankfully out of earshot, but Mr. Connor was just sitting there, staring at the wall opposite of him. All the while Tony sat on the floor in front of the toys, like that's where he'd been placed but it wasn't where he wanted to be.

"We can be there immediately, thank you for notifying us," Jethro replied.

"Thank you, Mr. Gibbs."

"It's Jethro, thank you for calling," he replied, before hanging up the phone. Shannon watched him, her eyes filled with fear, "Abby may have pneumonia, she's been taken to Inova Children's hospital. I guess Lela is a bit concerned that this Mr. Connor they're staying with is no longer fit to do this job.

"What are you waiting for," Shannon replied, as she walked out of the kitchen to grab her purse and keys.

Jethro smirked, as he grabbed his wallet and let his wife lock the door behind him, before she passed him the keys to drive. As they drove the twenty-five minutes to the hospital their minds raced, they really had no idea what waited for them at the hospital. It sounded as though Abby was very ill, Tony sounded fine, but would he be receptive to new parents?

Arriving at the hospital and parking the car, the couple made their way into the emergency room entrance, they introduced themselves, explaining who they were here for at the information desk. "She's still in examination, there are a few people in the waiting area for her already, you're welcome to go sit with them. The doctor should be out soon to update you all."

"Thank you," Jethro replied. They walked towards the waiting room, Shannon's eyes landed on the little dark haired boy who was half heartedly playing with the toys, occasionally the boy would let out a mighty sigh and stare at nothing, before going back to playing. He was of small stature, his hair was a healthy pallor and was quite handsome. She could imagine him as an adult, he'd be quite the looker one day.

Lela, for her part, was seated on the floor across from the boy, trying to talk quietly to him. Shannon had expected to see one or both of the Connors, but if they were here, they had disappeared at some point. Lela spotted Jethro and Shannon and offered a warm smile, she got to her feet and pointed over to them as she crouched beside the boy.

"Anthony, this is Jethro and Shannon Gibbs," Lela introduced.

"Like from the Beverly Hillbillies?" Tony questioned.

Jethro chuckled as he sat on one of the old faded chairs in the waiting room, while Shannon knelt beside Tony. "Kind of, it's Leroy Jethro, but I go by Jethro."

"Oh, okay," he looked over at Shannon, she was studying him, as if trying to figure him out. He got to his little feet and moved closer to her, he wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her.

Shannon felt her heart break as the boy hugged her, it was clear he'd needed this for some time, so she wrapped her own arms around the five year old and held on tight. "Nice to meet you, Tony."

"Are you my new mommy?" he asked her, his voice very quiet, as if he couldn't quite believe it.

She pulled back enough to look at him, reaching up to cup his face, she smiled, "I'd like to try," she offered. "Jethro and I would like to give you a childhood, and love you to bits, if that's okay."

He smiled and threw himself into her arms once again, but the hug ended quickly, his face growing fearful and serious, "What about Abs?"

"Abby too," Jethro reassured.

Tony pulled away from Shanno and stepped over to Jethro, stopping right in front of him, "Really?"

"That's the plan, if that's what you guys want."

Tony looked unsure about hugging Jethro, but was saved from making the decision when a man in dark blue scrubs with a white jacket stepped over to them, "Are you here for Abigail Scuito?"

"Yes, how is she?" Lela asked standing quietly, followed by Shannon and Jethro.

Jethro felt a smile grace his lips as Tony slid his little hand in Jethro's larger one. Jethro gave it a slight squeeze, glancing down at the hazel eyes that stared at him as if he'd hung the moon.

"Unfortunately she's got a pretty nasty case of pneumonia. I'm not sure if anyone ever had her tested for asthma or allergies, but after this we may want to keep an eye out for that. We're admitting her tonight, she's being started on antibiotics and fluids to rehydrate her. Once her temperature is back to normal and she's a bit more responsive, we're going to run some tests for asthma."

"May we see her?"

He glanced over at Lela, "I understood the girl was a ward of the state?"

Lela nodded, "These are going to be her adoptive parents, it's okay, Doctor."

"Right then, come with me, she's been settled into a room after we took some x-rays. She'd not very lucid at the moment, but it'll get better. We don't have visiting hours really since all our patients are children, all we do ask is that other children don't stay overnight. So while the little guy here can certainly visit his sister, I'd prefer he didn't stay."

"No problem doctor," Jethro replied, "He just wants to make sure she's okay," he reached under the boy's arms and lifted Tony up to rest against his hip. "Right buddy?"

"I'll be good," Tony replied.

The doctor smirked, "I have no doubt, follow me," he led the group to a set of elevators. A few moments later they stepped off on the third floor, "This is our pulmonary unit, she'll be here for the duration of her stay as long as no other complications arise," he led them down a bright colorful hallway to the third door in and knocked before he pushed the large heavy door in. It was thankfully a private room, Abby was lying very still on a crib bed, which had high rails on either side so she couldn't role out. She was hooked up to a heart monitor, had oxygen cannula in her nose, she had IVs in two separate places, on on the back of her left hand and one in her elbow, a damp wash cloth was sitting on her forehead.

"She's so little," Jethro murmured, not realizing he'd said it out loud as his wife smirked at his response.

"She just turned three in October," Lela replied as she moved over beside the child, reaching out, she caressed the toddler's cheek. She smiled down as green eyes fluttered open and looked up at her.

"Mommy," she whimpered, her hands reaching out. Lela glanced up at the doctor.

"It's the fever," the doctor assured, "like I said not very lucid."

Shannon moved closer to the little girl and smiled, "We're here sweetheart," she replied, running her hands through the soft black hair.

"I'll get all the paperwork ready so we can sign over guardianship tomorrow. You'll technically be foster parents until the adoption is finished, which is typically about six to nine months depending on how busy everything is. We can address questions then, of course."

"Thanks," Jethro replied as he stepped closer to the bed and looked down at the little girl who would now be his daughter. She was beautiful, her green eyes almost clear in the middle, pale skin, dark jet black hair. If he didn't know better he'd swear she could be his and Shannon's. If not for those beautiful green eyes.

"Honey," Shannon startled him from his internal musings, he glanced up. "You all right?"

"Fine, just thinking, uh, did you want to take our little man here home to get some sleep? I'll stay here with Abs?"

Shannon bit her lip to keep from chuckling, as her husband almost repeated her exact suggestion from moments earlier, one he'd clearly missed. She'd known as soon as Jethro Gibbs became a daddy to a little girl he'd be hopeless. While Shannon was well aware how much her husband loved her, and no matter how much he'd joked about wanting a boy to carry on the Gibbs genes, there was very clear a part of him who wanted a daddy's girl.

"I think that sounds like a great idea, Tony, do you want to come see your new bedroom? I'll read you a story, you can go to sleep and then we'll come back first thing in the morning? Does that sound okay?"

Tony gave her a sleepy nod, as he tried desperately to keep his eyes open, as Shannon came around and gently took him into her arms. He instantly cuddled up close to him, tucking his head to her neck and shoulder, and Shannon realized she was no better than her husband as she rubbed the little boy's back. The idea of having a mama's boy was equally as tempting. "We'll see you in the morning Abby," Shannon whispered to her new daughter, before she, Lela and Tony made their way out of the hospital room.

Jethro pulled the chair closer to the crib and took a seat, he let one of the side bars down, knowing he'd protect the toddler from falling out. As she rolled onto her side, facing him, he felt his heart melt a little more when she gripped his fore and middle finger in her tiny hands. Her green eyes slid open once more. "You're not my daddy," she mumbled miserably.

He reached out with his other hand, and pet her hair, "No, but I'd like to be," he replied in as gentle as a tone as he could.

"Dopted?"

"Yes, Shannon and I are adopting you. Go to sleep little one, we'll talk about it when you feel better," he murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead, before returning to caress her hair and watch her sleep.

It was nearly a week later when Jethro, Shannon, Abby and Tony all got to go home as a family. Once her fever had gone and she was more active, she'd been thrilled about having a new family. Tony had firmly attached himself to Shannon, and the same was said for Abby to Jethro.

It was the night they'd returned home, having settled both kids into their rooms, that he sat down and it hit him like a hundred ton weight: he was now in charge of not just one but two tiny little lives. Two lives that had already both been shattered, he was responsible for giving them a happy life. As he reached out to brush a stray hair from Abby's face, he realized his hand shook; he quickly withdrew it and looked down at his hands. Could he be a good father?

"What's going on in that handsome head of yours, Jethro?" Shannon asked, walking back in and sitting across his laps. He naturally held her close, arms around his waist; he rested his head against her shoulder and chest.

"Thinking," he whispered, he closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of the fingers running through his short marine cut hair and down the back of his neck.

"About?"

"Fatherhood."

She chuckled, "Scared?"

"Absolutely terrified," he replied with a smirk.

She pressed a chastised kiss to his lips, before leaning he her against his forehead, "We're in it together, love."


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Apologies to those who were upset at certain descriptions in the last chapter. I will do better next time. In other news I apologize if my posts are a bit slower, between school and some personal stuff, I'm a bit stressed at the moment.**

 **Chapter Three**

Jethro wasn't entirely sure when he fell asleep, it was quite some time after they'd put their new children to bed, and after his third brief panic attack about parenthood. So when the marine slowly opened his eyes only to find himself being not only stared at, but clearly judged within an inch of his life by a toddler with very, very green eyes, he was startled enough that he yelped and rolled right off the bed.

A sharp giggle filled the room, and Jethro was certain, that despite how sore his hip was now from connecting with the thin carpet of their condo, that it was still the most beautiful sound in the entire world. He popped up, just enough for his blue eyes to stare up at her over the side, "Think that's funny huh?" he questioned.

Her head nodded with abandonment as she giggled more and playfully flung a pillow at his head. He chuckled as he pretended to fall over again, getting yet another giggle. Grinning, he sat up and crossed his arms on the bed looking up at her. "Hi," he replied.

"Are you my new daddy?" She asked.

He smiled as he stood and sat back on the bed, against the headboard, he was fairly pleased when she climbed into his lap, leaning her side against him. He comfortably wrapped both his arms around her and hugged her, gentle of her injuries. "I'd like to be, my name is Jethro Gibbs, and my wife, who you may have met by now is Shannon. You and Tony are going to stay with us for awhile, and if you decide you like us, then we would like to adopt you," he explained.

She threw her arms around his neck suddenly and hugged him tight, "I like hugs, do you like hugs, Mr. Gibbs?"

He pulled her flush against his chest, and wrapped both his arms around her, giving her the tightest hug he could without causing her pain, "I love hugs, Abby."

"Then I wanna stay forever!" she cheered, before planting a big kiss on his cheek.

He chuckled at the sheer simplicity of the small child, he pressed a soft kiss to her cheek as well and grinned, "Well I'm glad. Why don't we go see where your brother and Shannon are?"

"Breakfast!"

He smirked as he stood and pulled on a sweatshirt to ease the chill of the morning, he lifted her into his arms, resting her against his chest again and together they headed downstairs into the kitchen. As promised Shannon and Tony were both active in the kitchen, Tony stood on a chair and was cracking eggs into a pan, while Shannon prepped the toast and bacon. Occasionally Tony's little hands would drop one of the shells, and he'd pause to see if he'd get yelled at. Shannon smiled and stepped over behind him, showing him how to use the egg shell to get the small pieces out.

"Wow something smells amazing in here, it must be Tony's cooking!" he joked as he kissed his wife and dropped a kiss to the top of the boy's head. Tony beamed as he looked up at his new foster father. "Looks like you're doing great champ," he sat Abby down in a high chair they'd been given by his father. It had been Jethro's when he was a little boy. "Abby do you want some juice, or milk?"

"Milk," she cheered.

"How you feeling today, Tony?"

"Ms. Shannon is teaching me cooking," his chest puffed with pride as he told Jethro about his morning.

They didn't mention the previous night, Jethro knew at some point they'd have to, but for now it appeared the two children were more than a little ready to adjust to their new home. As they sat down to breakfast, it was Tony who asked first, "Do we gotta do chores?"

Jethro looked at the boy, considering his words carefully, ultimately he would prefer the child speak proper English, but at the moment, only a day in he was willing to let the improper wording go just for the sake of comfort. "You'll have a couple, for example Shannon may have you clear or set the table once in awhile, and she'll probably fold your laundry but have you put it away. Then obviously we'd like you to clean up after yourselves when it comes to toys. Does that seem fair?"

Tony's eyes went wide at the idea that his opinion suddenly mattered, "Yeah, what happens if I forget or don't finish?"

Shannon glanced at her husband, "Well if we ask you to do something, we expect you to do it, out of respect, for example if I ask you to clean up something you've spilled, I expect you to do so because it's your home too and partly your responsibility to keep it nice, does that make sense?" Once she got a nod she continued, "So if you flat out ignore a request like that, we'll probably either have you do a few extra tasks as punishment, or we'll take toys or TV away."

"No hitting?"

Jethro reached out and grabbed the boy's hand, "We will never, ever, hit you as punishment. The only exception we may ever make is if you were to put you or others in harms way and you may get a spanking, but Shannon and I would discuss first before punishment. No one ever has the right to touch you without your permission, Tony. Neither one of you, understood?" he looked over at Abby who was half listening and nodded.

"So, Shannon and I were thinking, if you guys were up to it, maybe we'd go shopping, get you some more clothes that fit you, stock our pantries with food you guys like, and help you decide how to decorate your room? What do you two think?"

"Hippos!" cheered Abby taking a nibble of her bacon, causing the other three to chuckle.

o0o

Sometime around four in the evening, Jethro began to realize that children were endless energy sources, as they stepped into their house, Tony was babbling a million miles a minute about the colors they'd chosen for the room, one wall would be bright green and there would be black accents around the room, thanks to Abby's…unique tastes at such a young age.

Abby had conked out twice between the clothes shopping and food shopping, and was currently drooling on Shannon's shoulder while Jethro and Tony man handled all the bags into the house. "I'm going to go put her down for a bit," Shannon explained, carrying the tot up the stairs.

Jethro plopped down on the couch, amused as his foster son did the exact same thing, the two of them both kicking up their feet onto the coffee table. He smirked as the boy flopped against his side with ease. "You wore me out, big man," Jethro muttered as he rubbed his hand over Tony's chest.

"Miss Shannon said you're a marine…I thought they didn't run outta energy sir."

Jethro chuckled as he patted the boy, "I'll tell you a secret about growing up…your energy magically disappears the older you get."

"Growing up sounds lame."

He smirked and leaned his head back against the couch, "Mr. Gibbs…can I stay wif you forever."

"I'd love that, kiddo. I'd really love that," he closed his eyes and sighed, feeling the boy beside him grow a little more limp.

That was how Shannon found the boys, fast asleep on the couch, little Tony sinking further and further into his new beloved foster dad. She grinned, and found their Polaroid, she took a quick picture, setting it on the TV stand, before picking up their groceries and putting them away.

o0o

Shannon and Jethro kept Tony out of school for the remainder of the week while they worked on getting him transferred to a school closer by. Shannon, a teacher herself, spent her days teaching Tony the basics, and helping Abby as well occasionally. Jethro was in the midst of his year at home, meaning in another 8 months he'd be sent back out on deployment. So his hours were thankfully regular, but he was constantly training and prepping for the next deployment. His deployment would then be roughly six months in length, followed by another year in the country. He was currently being trained as a sniper.

By Monday of the following week, Tony was being dropped off at the on base elementary school at Quantico. Shannon had cut herself back to strictly substituting, but had put that on hold for until they felt Abby was ready for daycare. There was an on base Child development center, she would start taking Abby to next week to visit, for part of the day, but they wanted to work her up to being comfortable being left on her own.

At this point she was cleaning up the house a bit, having let things go while they'd let the kids settle in, when she heard a voice cry from upstairs. "MOMMY!" it startled her at first, because Abby nor Tony had called her yet that. She supposed on some level it was an instinct for someone so young as Abby to call whoever her caretaker was, mommy and daddy. She hurried up the stairs to find Abby sitting on the floor crying, hands outstretched for someone to give her a hug.

Shannon smiled as she knelt down and let the toddler climb into her arms, "What's wrong, Princess?" She pressed a kiss to the girl's temple, "Did you have a nightmare?" the toddler had been napping. A small head nodded against her neck. Shannon sat down in the rocking chair, holding the girl close, and ran her hand over her hair; the nightmares were still coming just about every other night for one or both of the children. Tony tried to hide his fear, while Abby embraced it and sought out comfort. She imagined that Tony, being a little older was struggling to attach himself to Jethro and her.

"I have to go pick your big brother up from school, would you like to come?" It was a silly question, there was no question she'd come, Shannon couldn't leave her home alone, but this way Abby felt included.

"Yay! I miss Tony," she whined.

Shannon gave the girl a sad frown; she hadn't really thought about that, these two had spent a lot of time together lately. It made sense that the only constants in their lives were each other and that they might miss one another. "Oh, Abby, I'm sorry baby. He's at school, it's perfectly normal, we should've explained that better, come on, lets get your shoes on and we'll go check in on him a bit early, okay?"

A few minutes later the two were walking together towards the school, Abby had become rather adamant in the last week about walking everywhere. She adored being picked up and hugged, but the more she saw her big brother doing things on his own, she wanted to copy. So she gripped two of Shannon's fingers tight as they headed to the school.

The elementary school wasn't far, only about a ten minute walk from their house, and Abby managed almost all of it without tripping over anything. There were some students already on the playground, having been released a few minutes early for play. Not seeing her little boy, she looked down at Abby, "Would you like to play on the playground for a bit while we wait?"

"Kay!" the girl cheered before toddling off in the direction of the sand box. Chuckling to herself, she realized she and Jethro would have their handful with Abby. At barely two she was far more independent than she was prepared for and considering her language skills she was fairly well spoken and dangerously opinionated. Yes, she'd be a spit-fire later.

Moving to a bench near the sand box, she saw Abby sitting next to another little toddler, his mother was clearly sitting nearby, talking to another mom, because she'd glance over at him every once in awhile. The boy was maybe a year or so older than Abby. He was quiet and focused on his task at hand, which appeared to be building a castle, with only a few blocks.

"I'm Abby!" Abby introduced as she plopped down in the box across from him.

The boy glanced up, he had blue green eyes and a sweet face, "I'm Timmy," he replied, "Do you want to help me build?"

"Sure!" For the next ten minutes they worked together to build a mighty sandcastle. Suddenly there was a flurry of movement and Tony came up, and jumped atop the castle.

"TONY!" squealed Abby in a fit of anger.

"No!" Timmy shouted, his eyes watering in anger and frustration.

"You're a baby! Only babies cry!" Tony shouted pointing at Timmy.

Abby stood up, nearly a head under her big brother and pushed him, as hard as she could. She caught him just off balance and he fell out of the sandbox and on his back, smacking his head on the ground. Everyone froze for a moment as they realized what had happened before Tony opened his mouth and started crying out like he'd be maimed.

"Tony! Abby, what on earth!?" Shannon have been talking to the teacher about his first day, not seeing what the boy was doing.

"Timmy," Tim's mother hurried over, picking up her four year old, "I'm so sorry-" she began to apologize Shannon, before Abby spoke up.

"How comes! It was Tony's fault!" Abby snapped, stomping her foot.

"He destroyed my castle," whispered Timmy as he curled up in his mother's arms.

Shannon looked down at the crying boy, "Tony, that's mean, stand up, so I can make sure you're all right. Abigail, you don't push, that's also mean," she told the toddler."

"Looks like you have your hands full with those two," the woman offered as she brushed her son off, he was trying to push her hands away. "I'm Stacy McGee by the way."

"Shannon Gibbs, I really am sorry for his behavior, he's testing his boundaries, it would seem. I hope Timmy is okay?"

"I'm fine," Timmy replied, before he grinned at Abby, who grabbed him in a hug, startling him slightly.

"Do you live on base?" Shannon asked.

Stacy shook her head, "No, actually my husband is in a meeting right now, so I brought Timmy here to play. We should probably get going, but it was nice meeting you, even you Tony."

"Thanks!" the little boy replied, his eyes lighting up, despite having been soaked with tears only a moment earlier.

Shannon waved as Stacy and Timmy walked the opposite way, before she put her hands on her hips and looked at her two, "Well, this has been a rather interesting day. You know Tony, Abby missed you all day, and the first thing you did was ruin something she did."

Tony looked down at the ground, scuffing his shoe slightly, "I'm sorry, Abs."

Abby eyed him for another moment, before reply with a huge hug to him as well, "It's okay!"

"All right you two, lets head home, make some dinner for daddy Jethro," she scooped Abby up in her arms, and took Tony's outstretched hand. He didn't hold onto it long though, soon he was handing his backpack off to her and running zig zag in front of her the entire way home. "Tony, why don't you and you and Abby go play out back, there's a tire swing from the previous owners."

"Okay!"

"Don't push too high!" she shouted as the two ran out the back of the house. She was halfway through making spaghetti when the front door opened. As if on cue the back door opened and the two children ran inside.

"DADDY!" Abby shrieked with excitement, hurling herself into his less than prepared arms.

Gibbs had to drop his bag to the ground quickly to catch the toddler, but he swept her up, pressing a kiss to her cheek before blowing raspberries against her cheek. Putting her back down so she could hurry to the kitchen, he looked over at Tony who was waiting by the living room entryway, "Hey kiddo, how was school?"

"Good, I can count all the way to twenty," he explained. Jethro took a seat in his chair, taking a deep breath and sighing. He was mildly surprised when Tony started climbing into his lap.

"You all right, bud?"

Tony was quiet for a moment, playing with Jethro's dog tags, reading them and flipping them over in his hands, "Are you going to keep up?"

Jethro ran his hand through Tony's hair, his hand stopping when he felt a small bump on the back of the head, "What's this from?"

"Abby pushed me."

Jethro nodded, "Lets come back to that. In response to your first question, yes, we're planning on it, unless you don't like it here. Do you like it here?" Tony nodded vigorously, before Jethro caught his chin, tilting it up so he could meet the hazel eyes, "What's wrong kiddo?"

"I had ta make all new friends, an' I don't like it very much, an' I'd like to stay here," he paused for a long moment before he mumbled something far less coherent.

Jethro's brows furrowed in confusion, "Run that one by me again?"

"I want you to be my daddy."

Jethro didn't hesitate he wrapped both arms around him and held on tight, "Then I'll be your daddy. You're here for as long as you want to be kiddo. If that's forever, then it's forever. Because I'd like you to be my son."

"So I can call you daddy?"

"If you want to."

Two skinny arms were thrown around his neck as the air was practically hugged from his throat, he smiled and hugged him back. "I want to, daddy."

Jethro felt his heart swell at that and took an extra moment to hug the boy a little tighter, before he let go, and let his boy readjust himself on his lap. "So, Abby pushed you, huh?"

"Yep, wham and suddenly I was on my butt."

Jethro chuckled, "Uh, huh, and did you do something to premeditate this attack?"

"Huh?"

"What did you do to her to upset our mellow little Abby."

Tony made an 'oh' face before he grinned in guilt, his cheeks reddening, "I stomped all over her and her boyfriend's sandcastle."

"Well then, sounds to me like you kinda had it coming," chuckled Jethro. "It's not very nice to break and ruin other people's stuff. How would you have felt if she'd done that to you?"

"Not very good."

"Did you apologize?"

"Yes, sir."

"Don't call me sir, as long as you apologized and she apologized for lashing out, no harm no foul. Just think about how your actions might make you feel before you do it to others, okay?"

"Okay daddy."

"Jethro, you're home," Shannon smiled, kissing her husband on the lips.

"Ew," Abby giggled as she watched them.

"Oh, you think that's gross," Jethro grinned and grabbed the little girl and kissed her face until she squealed in delight.

He held his two kids close and sighed in contentment as they settled and Shannon laughed at them, returning to the kitchen to finish dinner, "I heard you pushed your big brother?" He wanted to address her actions as well since she hadn't been anymore right in her actions.

"He started it," she replied, looking down at her hands as she picked at his uniform.

He gripped her chin with a firm hand, gentle enough tough that he wouldn't hurt her. "I understand that, but that doesn't mean you act out in response. The only time you ever push someone or hit someone is they are physically trying to hurt you. Understood?"

"Okay," she replied. "Can you apologize to Tony?"

She looked at her big brother earnestly, who seemed surprised by that request, "I'm sorry, Tony," she threw her arms around his neck. He chuckled and held his sister tight.

"It's okay," he replied.

"Good, Tony, take your sister and get ready for dinner, he helped the two slide off his lap and smirked as they hurried up the stairs. Jethro moved into the kitchen from behind his wife, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck.

She grinned, "You keep doing that and you're going to have to explain to your children why daddy's tickling mommy on the table."

Laughing, he whirled her around and caught her lips, "Tony wants me to be his daddy."

Shannon studied her husband's beaming features, despite the distinct differences between the man and boy; she could see the beginnings of father and son habits. She was already beginning to notice when Tony imitated Jethro in some ways, he typically tried to sit the same way Jethro did, he would try to make his hair like Jethro's. She figured they may need to get him a hair cut to match at some point if he really wanted it.

"He adores you already," she offered, "You know, I've been thinking, his birthday is coming up in July; any chance you might be able to get some vacation? We could take them to Disney? Or maybe even up to the cabin, see how they like camping?"

He grinned, "We can probably manage that, when's his birthday, July right?"

"July 10th," she confirmed.

"I'll check tomorrow. My next deployment should be sometime around November or December."

"You won't be home for Christmas?" She felt her heart sink, this would be their first Christmas.

He sighed and let his head drop, "Shannon, you knew this was a possibility, it's a year off and then six month deployments."

"I know, I'm sorry," she rested a hand against his chest, looking at his dog tags; "This is just the first Christmas, that's all. We'll be fine," she reassured him.

He pulled her hand from his chest and pressed a kiss to the back of it, "I love you."

"I love you too."

"What about us!?" Abby said as she hurried over to her new parents. Shannon laughed and pulled her up into her arms, smiling as Tony hugged her legs.

"Well of course you two. How could we not love these adorable cheeks," she grinned kissing Abby's pale cheeks. "Lets eat, dinner's ready." Jethro watched his wife put Abby in her high chair, and help Tony up in his chair and he felt an unfamiliar ache in the pit of his belly. The idea of leaving his wife and now their children was more daunting than usual, but he'd signed up to be a Marine, and he'd understood what that meant, every bit of it. He'd thought Shannon understood too.

TBC


End file.
